SETTING THE SCENE
Cleveland State will welcome first-place Wright State to the Wolstein Center on Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest. The Vikings enter with a 10-16 overall record and a 6-9 mark in league games, while the Raiders hold a 16-10 record and an 11-4 mark in the Horizon League.
 
A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD…
Keep the Vikings above .500 at home on the year...Snap a two-game skid...Make it three straight home wins against Wright State...Favor the Green and White 7-3 in the last ten contests...Complete the season sweep for the first-time since 2022-23…Knock off the first-place team in the league for a second time.
 
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
The Cleveland State men's basketball team had the highest GPA in the department for men's sports with a 3.62 GPA. Ten players were named to the Dean's List while the entire team had a GPA above 3.00.
 
NEARING THE END
Cleveland State has four games left after today's game against Wright State, with two of those at home. The Vikings hit the road before hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 22 and Northern Kentucky on Feb. 25.
 
RUN N STUN REUNION
Cleveland State will host a reunion dinner and program centered around the 40-year anniversary of the 1985-86 "Run N' Stun" Sweet Sixteen team on February 21 at 5 p.m. The team will be honored on the court during the February 22 game against Fort Wayne.
 
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Saturday 2.22 - Senior Day + Youth Day
Wednesday 2.25 - Tim Misny bobblehead

LAST GAME OUT
The Vikings dropped an 85-68 contest to Robert Morris at home on Thursday evening. Jaidon Lipscomb led the Green and White with 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with three of those coming from beyond the arc. He also had a team-best three assists. Chevalier Emery finished with 17 points off the bench. Josiah Harris pulled down a team-best five rebounds.

Robert Morris led 17-11 when the Vikings erupted with an 11-0 run, with the final eight points coming from Lipscomb to lead for the first time, 22-17, with 9:10 left in the first half.

Following five straight points by the Colonials to tie the game, Tre Beard connected from long range to start an 8-0 run capped by a Lipscomb three-pointer, giving the Green and White its largest lead of the half, 30-24, with 5:37 showing. Cleveland State trailed 45-33 at the half and were unable to make up ground in the second half, falling, 85-68.

#THROWBACK TO FIRST MEETING
Cleveland State picked up its first road win of the season at first-place Wright State, 85-79, on Jan. 21, which was also the first win away from home for Coach Summers. Dayan Nessah picked up his third double-double of the year en route to his first Horizon League Player of the Week honor. The sophomore scored 31 points on 9-of-13 shooting, pulling down ten rebounds, and dishing out five assists.

Tre Beard finished with 18 points, Lipscomb chipped in 15 points, and Chevalier Emery dropped ten points off the bench. The Green and White shot 51 percent from the field on 27-of-53 shooting, knocked down 11-of-23 from beyond the arc, and were 20-of-22 at the free throw line.
 
Cleveland State led 40-33 at halftime and remained in front until Wright State used an 18-0 run to reclaim a 55-47 lead with 10:44 remaining in regulation. The Vikings chipped away at the deficit before tying the game at 65-65 on a Nessah layup while being fouled with 5:49 showing.
 
After the Raiders matched the old-fashioned three-point play, Cleveland State went on an 8-0 run, which started with an Emery three-pointer and was capped off with a Lipscomb three-pointer to lead 73-68 with 3:38 to go.
 
The Vikings stayed on top until a TJ Burch layup and free throw put the home team ahead 79-77 with 1:17 left in the contest. Cleveland State then took control of the game, scoring the final eight points to win 85-79.
 
ABOUT THE RAIDERS
Wright State is 4-2 since the last matchup with Cleveland State at home while maintaining its spot atop the league standings. The Raiders are 9-3 since the calendar turned to 2026 and are coming off a 77-74 loss to De-troit Mercy at home on Thursday. Four players average double-digit points led by Michael Cooper with 14.0 per game. Michael Imariagbe tops the team in rebounds with 6.6 per game and Tj Burch has dished out 83 assists and has 69 steals.
 
OVER/UNDER FOR THE WIN
The Vikings are 7-0 this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
 
Cleveland State is 8-3 on the year when scoring more than 80 points.
 
LEADING THE WAY FOR THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State has four double-digit scorers, led by Nessah with 15.6 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting. Beard is close behind with 13.8 points, followed by Emery and Lipscomb, each with 11.9 points per game.
 
Nessah has pulled down 164 total boards to top the squad and has a team-best 46 offensive boards. Lipscomb is tops in assists with 78.
 
LETHAL DUO FROM LONG RANGE
Lipscomb and Beard are top three in three-point field goal percentage. Beard is shooting 43.4 percent from beyond the arc while Lipscomb is third at 42.5 percent from beyond the arc.
 
In the NCAA, Beard is 14th in three-point percentage and Lipscomb is 33rd.
 
LETTING IT FLY FROM DEEP
Cleveland State has reached double digits in three-pointers in 16 of its 26 games this season. The top three marks this season are 17 against Oakland and 16 twice on the road at Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne.
 
NESSAH NAILING IT
Nessah is seventh in the league, averaging 15.6 points per game, and is fifth in the league with 6.6 rebounds per contest. The sophomore ranks 15th in the league in free throw percentage at 74.9 percent.
 
BREAKING DOWN BEARD
Beard averages 13.8 points per game which is 16th in the league and averages 3.1 assists per game which is 15th in the Horizon League. He is second in free throw percentage at 87.7 percent, and tops in three-point percentage at 45.2 percent.
 
PROTECTING THE PAINT
Pierre-Louis has 29 blocks this season, averaging 1.4 per game, which ranks fourth in the league.
 
GOT THAT DEEP BALL RECORD
Twice this season, Cleveland State has tied the three-ball record of 16 before breaking it with 17 made three-pointers against Oakland on Feb. 4 in Woodling Gymnasium.
 
The Vikings tied the mark at Purdue Fort Wayne (1/4/26) and at Green Bay (1/30/26). On Wednesday, the Green and White had just five long balls at the half before exploding with 12 in the second half.
 
TWICE IS NICE
Nessah has twice been named the Horizon League Player of the Week and is the only Viking to receive this honor. He claimed the first after picking up a double-double at Wright State with 31 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with five assists.
 
The following week, he repeated as the award winner after averaging 18.5 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists during the Wisconsin trip.
 
WISCONSIN SWEEP
Cleveland State has been making the trip to Wisconsin for a pair of games for nearly 30 years, completing the sweep for just the fourth time, with the last coming under Coach Gates in 2021-22.
 
COACHES SHOW
You can listen to the weekly Rob Summers radio show at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, on SportsRadio 99.1.
 
UP NEXT
Cleveland State makes the short trip to Youngstown State on Wednesday, Feb. 18 with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m.